Women, Informal Institutions and Diplomacy. Autoethnographic Reflections from Post-communist Bulgaria

At her recruitment interview for the Bulgarian diplomatic service, Tonka Kostadinova was warned about the difficulties women could face in combining a diplomatic career with family life. Throughout her time in the service, she encountered challenges in balancing her private life and personal relationships with the expectations of professional loyalty and service to the state. These tensions eventually brought her diplomatic career to an end.
These experiences form the backbone of Dr Kostadinova’s new book, which is the first study of informal institutions in diplomacy told through an insider's autoethnographic account. Drawing on six years in Bulgaria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Kostadinova explores how old-boys' networks, intelligence ties, and unwritten rules influence who gets hired, promoted, posted abroad, or pushed out, and why women so often pay the price.

Join us for an interactive conversation with the author, a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cyprus. Bring your questions!